Flames improve chances

The Flames won 2-1.

The Avs lost 5-2.

“So you’re telling me there’s a chance!”

With the events of tonight, the Flames now sit only two points behind Colorado with a colossal, gigantic, enormous match-up against those same Avs on Friday night in the Mile High City.

Miikka Kiprusoff single-handedly won yet another game for the Flames, who have leaned on their goaltender far too often this season. He robbed numerous Coyotes on multiple opportunities throughout the game. That included a flurry of about two minutes in the first when the line of Stempniak-Lombardi-Wolski did everything but score. There was also about a five minute surge by the visitors in the final frame where Miikka was on his head making acrobatic saves at every turn.

The power play did score a goal; a laser beam off of Bourque’s skate. For the most part though, and especially in the first period, the power play hindered the Flames more than helped them.

On a side note, does anyone else think it is utterly hilarious and ironic that the Flames former back-up goaltender just gave the current Flames a much needed boost? Curtis McElhinney —Kipper’s former stick boy — was the winning goaltender for the Ducks tonight over the Avalanche. This was Mac’s 4th straight win as well. A guy who was shunned out of this city for not being a reliable back-up to call upon has now given the Flames more help than he ever provided wearing the flaming C. Irony at its finest.

Ales Kotalik: Scoring Machine?

A new nickname perhaps? Most likely not, but the fact that Kotalik is finally finding the net has been an added boost for the desperate Flames. That, along with line-mate Mikael Backlund’s performance tonight gave Flames fans something extra to cheer about.

Backlund is starting to show signs of the potential the Darryl saw in him when he drafted him 24th overall in 2007. Backlund has now picked up three points in his past two games and showed some grit tonight diving in front of pucks and battling down in the corners. He has the potential to be the number one centre that Iginla has always wanted, but is that asking too much from a rookie with only 19 games of professional hockey experience under his belt?

Speaking of the Flames number one centre, did you see Matt Stajan skate over the blue line and then drop the puck back over the blue line putting himself offside?

That guy’s got Skills, with a capital S! I’m sure glad the Flames didn’t sign him long term…

And one final plug, for all those people who did not catch my radio debut today on the CBC, click here to listen to the clip!

This has been,

Newman on the Flames

Source of Photo: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2010/03/31/nhl-coyotes-flames-west.html

Newman on the Flames on CBC

Newman was on CBC Radio One this afternoon talking about the Flames's last gasp effort to make the playoffs. You can listen to the clip right here:

Newman on CBC


-TheRev

Hitmen beat Warriors 4 games to 3!

Check out my game review at the examiner.com!

Click here: http://www.examiner.com/Calgary-Sports.html

Flickering Flames

According to Sportsclubstats.com the Calgary Flames have a 4.7% chance of making the postseason. A slim, faint, flicker of hope, but hope nonetheless.

The schedule is not very easy but the Flames have no other options than to run the table for the rest of the season, and even then they need help to get into the tournament.

If they win all six remaining games then they have 78% chance of dancing with the big boys. If they only lose one game in extra time, their odds drop to 50/50. What makes anybody think they have a chance of sweeping the rest of the teams? Sundays win in Washington is really the only reason for any sort of optimism.

After coming off two of the most crushing defeats of the season – a 3-2 loss to the Isle and a 5-0 blow-out at the hands of the Bruins – the Flames shocked most around the league with a gusty performance versus the best team in the entire league; a 5-3 win in Washington.

The Flames finally played desperate hockey; something that eluded them in the two prior games. Maybe the on/off switch in their brains was finally manoeuvred into the right position, or maybe they were able to see the passion that Jim “Hulk Hogan” Playfair showed the day before. Someone in the organization had to blow a gasket, but no one thought it would come from the former Head Coach and current bench boss of the farm team.

That being said, that is the kind of emotion that needs to be shown. These players need to care, and until Sunday they have looked more interested in teeing it up on the links rather than competing for the greatest trophy in all of sports.

The remaining schedule plays out like this with the Flames record against the team in parenthesis:

Coyotes (1-1-1)
Avalanche (1-3-1)
Blackhawks (0-2-1)
Sharks (2-1-0)
Wild (1-3-1)
Canucks (3-2-0).

Add those up and the Flames have a 8-12-4 record against the remaining teams. They have never had a winning streak go past five games this season. Their penalty kill has lost its way allowing five goals in the last two games. The power play continues to struggle going one for their last nine chances.

4.7%...for all intensive purposes, it might as well read 0%.

This has been,

Newman on the Flames

And now, the end is near

“You're not, you're not good, Al. You stink.”

That was Ty Webb referring to Al Czervik’s golf game in Caddyshack.

He might as well have been referring to the 2009-10 version of the Calgary Flames as they all but sealed there playoff fate Thursday night on the Island with a 3-2 loss to the third worst team in the league.

With only eight games remaining and only one of those games coming against a non-playoff team, Flames fans might as well come to the realization that for the first time since 2003 their will not be a playoff game played in Calgary.

Their powerplay once again failed them when they needed it most, going 0 for 5 on the night. This, against an Islander team with the fourth worst penalty kill in the NHL. The Flames powerplay unit ranks 25th in the league with 16.5% of all chances finding the back of the net, which is worse than last year’s unit that finished 21st in the league with a 17% completion rate.

It was hard to imagine a powerplay worse than last years ‘No practice man-advantage’ unit, but I guess the Flames one upped themselves this time.

What is there to say really? Besides stating that last nights game was simply a microcosm of the entire season; at least the parts of the season that costs the Flames a birth of in the playoffs.

They weren’t able to find goals when they needed them. They were led by their fourth line and Eric Nystrom has emerged as the Flames offensive threat of late. No offence to the man formerly referred to as ‘Nyzerman,’ but he should not be the one counted on late in the season to provide the offensive support.

Jarome Iginla has one goal in his last eight games. A guy who his leaned on so heavily in this city to provide goal scoring simply did not come through when it mattered most. He did not step up to the plate and should hold some blame for this season as Captain and leader of this team.

The Flames have gone through Coaches like water in the last five years so its hard to imagine that Brent Sutter will be handed his walking papers. You have to figure the blames has to fall somewhere else this time.

The players? Definitely! But first and foremost the mastermind behind this whole operation must atone for his mistakes. My eyes are firmly planted on you Darryl.

At least now the Flames will be able to get tee times at Bushwood with Al, Ty, Danny and maybe even Judge Smails.

“Just be the ball, be the ball, be the ball. You're not being the ball Danny.”

The Flames clearly were having a difficult time ‘being the ball.’

This has been,

Newman on the Flames

Flames Lose; Hitmen Win!

The Flames crippled their playoff chances on Thursday night losing to the New York Islanders 3-2. More to come in a bit.

Calgary's other team, the Calgary Hitmen, won game 5 of their series with the Moose Jaw Warriors. Read my game summary here: http://www.examiner.com/x-42438-Calgary-Hitmen-Examiner~y2010m3d25-Hitmen-force-a-sixth-game

Stay tuned...

Hagman Lifts Flames to Victory

The Flames did what they had to do tonight beating the Anaheim Ducks 3-1. In the process they once again pulled within two points of the Detroit Red Wings for 8th place in the West.

Driving the Flames to victory was Niklas Hagman who had his coming out party wearing the red, yellow and black. Calgary also had two point nights from Iginla and Bouwmeester for the Flames who have now won three of four.

For Hagman, it was his second goal as a Flame and his first in 13 games. However, it wasn’t just the goal that made Hagman stick out tonight. He was all over the ice outworking the Ducks players on every shift. There was one shift, late in the third, where he single-handedly created three or four scoring chances simply by churning his legs. This was the Hagman everyone expected to see when the Flames acquired him from Toronto and helps justify the clearance sale that Sutter had in late January. That is of course if Nikky continues his strong play.

Bouwmeester, who has gone pointless in his last seven games, notched two assists for only the fourth time this season. Clearly struggling to find points this year, he turned his game around and looked much better tonight. Not sure if it’s the system that Jay is having a hard time adjusting to, but this season’s version of Jay Bouwmeester isn’t what most Flames fans expected when the Flames acquired him last summer.

Looking into the past, he played his entire career in Florida where he was given the chance to ‘free-wheel’ most of the time and structure was not so much of a concern. Now, under Brent Sutter, his game has taken a step back as he adjusts to the system, or at least that is what it seems like. I was looking forward to seeing him lead the rush up the ice on most nights, yet fans have rarely seen that this year. Tonight was the Jay we all thought he was and it was a breath of fresh air for many disgruntled Flames fans.

With nine games remaining the Flames travel out East for a three game road trip against the Islanders, Bruins and Capitals.

The Flames know what they have to do; win or don’t bother coming home.

On a side note, this past Sunday was the first day of Spring and a sure sign to tell it is Spring is if the ‘Leafs’ are out, and they certainly are this year.

Unfortunately, that line won’t be as funny if Iginla and Kipper are joining Kessel and Kaberle on the first tee this year.

This has been,

Newman on the Flames

Source of Photo: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/23/AR2010032304835.html

Fatal Error

There are 11 games left in the season. The Flames are playing one of the four opponents that they definitely should beat. Miikka Kiprusoff is the Flames MVP and starting goalie. Vesa Toskala, the Flames back-up, starts in between the pipes.

Can someone please explain this to me?

I don’t care about Brent Sutter’s hunches that Miikka can’t play the Wild and that Toskala played well against them last week.

Why would you even want to ‘rest’ Kipper during the stretch run if there isn’t anything to ‘stretch’ for?

Did Sutter over think the decision on his starting netminder? Yes.

Did he make a horrible gaffe and possibly, finally, cement the Flames in the 9th position? I believe so.

That is a atrocious coaching error and there is no excuse for it.

Kipper should be playing every single game until the Flames are eliminated from playoff contention. He is the best player on the team and the only reason the Flames have a chance to begin with.

Toskala allowed three questionable goals and that just can not happen. He showed his true “Leaf” colours today.

“The Bears are who we thought they were!”

Ten games remain for the Flames, who sit two points back of Detroit, and time is running out. I do not think the Red Wings are even the team to catch either. The team that is the most susceptible to being caught is either the Avalanche or the Kings.

Both teams are young and both teams haven’t been in a playoff chase for some time. They play each other three times over the course of the rest of the season, including back-to-back games this Monday and Wednesday. If one team were to sweep that series, than this could possibly open the door for the Flames, given the Flames take care of their own business. Still, the walls are closing in on them at an alarming rate.

The Flames have 81 points with a possible 20 still available to get.

The room for error, as I see it, is two games. If they lose two games or more then they are finished. Lose just two, and win the rest and you give yourself a shot.

Like my good friend once told me though, “Hope is a horrible thing.”

This has been,

Newman on the Flames

Same Same, But Different

The score in tonight’s Avs-Flames game was 3-2 for 5th time this season.

It’s as if no other outcome is possible.

However, this time, the Calgary Flames finally beat the Colorado Avalanche on the back of a stand out performance by Miikka...err Vesa Toskala?

Is Calgary the place to go when you are Finnish, a goalie, and not performing how you should? Is Darryl Sutter the goalie whisperer?

In two starts since coming over from the Anaheim Ducks, Vesa Toskala is 2-0 with a 2.00 GAA and a .937 SP%. He has been, in word, great. Something Flames fans are not used to seeing from back-up goaltenders. And something Leafs fans never had the pleasure of viewing.

There is no goalie controversy, of course, but it is nice to finally have a faint hope of winning when Kipper is given the odd night off.

On the other hand another former Leaf, Matt Stajan, had a brutal game. He had a team high three giveaways on the night and looked out of place on the ice.

You must be absolutely NUTS to sign this guy to $3.5 million a year for 4 years. He is soft, as he constantly gets muscled off the puck, and his scoring touch is mediocre at best.

Did Darryl want to justify the trade that bad? This guy is the Flames number one centre?

You have Stajan, Langkow, and Conroy up the middle. Trust me, no one is scared Darryl.

Another newcomer, Ales Kotalik, showed his softness in Denver tonight. One play in particular stands out, and Ray Ferraro did a good job pointing it out. The play happened down in the Flames offensive zone when Kyle Quincey just pushed Ales aside and took the puck from him. Kotalik showed no sign of desperation, no willingless to outwork his opponent. For a team that has to be play with a sense of urgency right now, you simply can not have half-hearted efforts like the one you saw from Ales tonight.

Sharks are next in another must win game for the Flames. Fans will remember the last time the Flames played the Sharks.

Does a 9-1 curb-stomping ring a bell?

The Flames should be pumped to get some redemption following one of the worst defeats that this franchise has ever seen.

This has been,

Newman on the Flames

P.S. Visit http://hitmenhockey.blogspot.com for all the latest on the Calgary Hitmen as they march towards the Memorial Cup. It will include live game blogging and post game comments. Get on the Playoff Train!

Turning Point

One play can often be the turning point in a game, but rarely do you see one play possibly be the turning point in a season.

That might have been the case this evening.

Tonight, in front of a sold out crowd at the Pengrowth Saddledome, Curtis Glencross was awarded a penalty shot with 1:30 remaining in the 2nd period. He skated back towards Kiprusoff who was smiling and spouting advice on what Glencross should do. Known for a laser snap shot in the top right corner, the speedy left winger blazed up the ice picking up the puck at the centre dot. He came in with great pace and let go a snap shot as expected, but instead tried to pick the left corner of the net. Unfortunately, Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard was not buying what Curtis was selling and threw out his blocker to keep the Wings within one. Fist pumping as he skated out of the crease, Howard knew he made a pivotal stop. 40 seconds later Pavel Datsyuk scores to tie the game at one.

So often plays are over analyzed and over scrutinized for their importance in a single game, yet this play stands out as a possible defining moment for a Flames season that is slowly slipping away.

Rewind to the start of the game. You could sense the tension in the ‘Dome. You could feel the uneasiness running through the fans minds. The Flames hit the ice to very few claps and a less than normal ovation. It was a weird game in that regard. Normally, the ‘C of Red’ is bouncing with excitement as the Flames make there way onto the ice; the opposite was the case tonight.

The fans had a right to be nervous. The Flames are on the verge of missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since the 2002-03 season; a span of seven years, six if you discount the lockout. Never in a full year with Darryl Sutter have the Flames missed the playoffs.

They now sit three points back of Detroit and four points back of 7th place Nashville.

They have 13 games remaining; nine of which are against teams currently in the playoffs. They have eight games remaining away from the ‘Dome where they are 17-10-6.
They have five remaining games at home where they are 17-16-3.
Maybe this stat is the silver lining that helps the Flames make a push?

The Flames have been horrendous on the powerplay of late sporting a ghastly 3 for their last 31 chances; not to mention zilch on the last 13 attempts. Tonight’s rendition of the man-advantage was like watching a train wreck as they had a difficult time even gaining the offensive zone. Granted the Wings have now killed off 19 straight penalties, but the Flames need to find some chemistry when they have more players on the ice than there opponent.

A few highlights tonight from players not normally noticed for them. Craig Conroy hit the score sheet and looked good in his limited role of 9:40 of ice time. He won all 12 draws he took, and led the Flames to a very rare dominating performance in that stat category.

Ian White also stood out for me tonight. Not only did he create some chances in the offensive zone, but he made some sound defensive plays including one in particular on Zetterberg. Since coming over from Toronto he has been the exact opposite of Dion Phaneuf; a reliable defenceman. He has been a +9 and has recorded five assists in the process. Not to mention he has helped Robyn Regehr post a +8 rating over that same time.

A couple of bright spots that a team like this desperately need more of. Obviously, I did not mention #34, but we all know he has been far and away the MVP of this team.

Kiprusoff can only do so much though, and his heroics might not be enough to help this band of underachievers jump into Lord Stanley’s tournament.

This has been,

Newman on the Flames

Flames Ride #34 to 4th Straight Win

The Calgary Flames won their 4th game in a row tonight for the first time since early January when they strung together 5 straight victories.

Mikka Kiprusoff blanked the Ottawa Senators 2-0, for his 4th shutout of the season and his first since November 30th; when he shutout the Nashville Predators 5-0. Kiprusoff was sharp all night long as he blocked all 33 shots the Sens through at him. Not to mention the 5 different power-plays that Kipper helped shoo away.

It was vintage Kipper, and in a way, vintage (vintage being 2004) Flames hockey.

The Flames were on the board early with Jamal Mayers’ first career goal as a Flame; a nice short-side-cheese snipe show. Due in part to a savvy dump-in and some nice fore-checking from Curtis Glencross, the Flames managed to get ahead early in the first period.

From there, the Flames sort of just hung on and relied on Kipper to make the timely save, or so it seemed. Much like the hockey Flames fans watched in 2004, the Flames clung to the one goal lead like the lives depended on it; and in a way it did. With the Red Wings posting a win earlier in the night, the Flames were aware they needed to hold serve and they did just that in beating the team from the nation’s capital.

It is amazing how much one week can change things. Last Thursday this Flames team was left for dead by almost everybody, including me, and being ripped apart for the moves they made at the trade deadline. Fast forward to tonight and the Flames have reeled off 4 straight victories and sit in a tie for 7th place in the Western Conference standings. After being harped on for not scoring any goals, they go out and pot sixteen goals in four games; something they have not done since October.

It is not as if they beat up on bad teams either. They took down the Devils (4th in the East), the Wild (21-9-3 at home), the Wings (Fighting with the Flames for 8th) and now the Senators (5th in the East).

I am still not convinced that this team is good enough to make any sort of elongated deep run, but they are making believers out of me that the Playoffs might be on the horizon.

Side notes: Kotalik has become invisible since coming over from the Rangers. 1 goal, 1 assist, and a -1. Not exactly getting what we paid for. He also is no longer on the point on the powerplay. This could have been due to the tightness of the game tonight, but maybe someone can help me on this one as I have missed the last couple of games.

Higgins on the other hand has come alive offensively, sort of. He has 3 points in his last 4 games, including 2 goals.

The top line of Iginla, Stajan and Bourque were shutdown tonight for the first time since being brought together. Before tonight, each player had individual 3 games point streaks going.

The Flames travel to Vancouver for a Sunday night tilt against the division leaders before flying home to face the Red Wings on Monday night. Like I have said in previous blogs, each game becomes the biggest game of the year and these two are no exception.

This has been,

Newman on the Flames

Bubnick Continues Family Legacy

This article was published on hitmenhockey.com. Playoffs begin next Thursday. Get your tickets now!

By Derrick Newman
hitmenhockey.com

Jimmy Bubnick is not the first member of his family to play in the Western Hockey League, but he is carrying the family torch with ease.

Bubnick, a 6’2” 195 pound center, had a lot of people to show him the way in the WHL, including both of his brothers, who both toiled in the league for various teams. “They kind of paved the way for me and made it a lot easier.”

Starting in the 1997-98 season, older brother Michael led the way for the Bubnick family when he also showcased his talent for the Calgary Hitmen. Next in line was Jonathan who went on to play for three different teams including Kamloops, Regina, and Portland. Now Jimmy has been given the family reigns and is helping the Calgary Hitmen stride forward towards a long playoff run.

“I think we are going to make a good run in the playoffs.” Bubnick has only played in two playoff series prior to this year; both first round exits while playing for the Kamloops Blazers.

He arrived in Calgary only two months ago and while getting traded is never easy, Jimmy Bubnick has found a new home in a very short time playing for the Calgary Hitmen.

“Obviously it was a bit shocking at the start but once you got over the initial shock, it was pretty exciting to get traded to a place like Calgary.” Bubnick had played in Kamloops for the past two and half seasons. “The fans here are great; it’s a real nice city.”

Jimmy was traded alongside forward Tyler Shattock and defenceman Zak Stebner, and said that sharing the experience with some familiar faces made the transition a lot easier.

Bubnick brings a bit of everything to the ice. He considers himself a jack of all trades who can score, pass and assert his physical stature when given the opportunity.

Hitmen Head Coach Mike Williamson wholeheartedly agrees with Jimmy’s self assessment. “He is a good all around player and he kills penalties. He is a good leader and going forward he is going to be a big part of this team.”

Being a junior hockey player brings about many distractions that can lead any hopeful Professional hockey player off the road to success. Back in his hometown of Saskatoon, Bubnick dabbles in every sport imaginable to make sure he stays busy. He is an avid golfer and wake-boarder and used to play a little baseball too. “I guess whatever keeps you occupied and off the streets and away from the distractions that you can find off the ice.”

This strong work ethic led Jimmy to being drafted by the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers in the 6th round of last year’s entry draft.

Although playing for the Thrashers next fall would be a stretch, Jimmy is not ruling out the chance. “I will most likely be back here. I would have to make the NHL team which is a long shot, but I will keep on working hard and plugging away.”

Scoring Goals turns into Wins

Maybe they were listening when everyone in the hockey world was laying into them for the horrible moves they made at the trade deadline and the atrocious game they followed with that night. The Calgary Flames (32-24-9) were a team that could not score. They have suddenly turned on the afterburners with ten goals in 2 games.

Leading the way is Jarome Iginla who recorded his tenth career hat trick in today’s game and added as assist. Rene Bourque is so far earning that giant contract extension recording 5 points in the last two games. Matt Stajan has 3 points in the last two as well. The newly formed top line of Bourque-Stajan-Iginla combined for 10 points in today’s afternoon tilt. Hey Brent, keep this line together!

Vesa Toskala, the Flames new back-up goaltender, recorded his first win in his first game wearing the red, yellow and black. It took the former back-up a little longer to record his first ‘W’; then again the Flames rarely hung 5 goals on an opponent while he was in net. Nevertheless, Vesa must be applauded for today’s performance as he played well in relief of his Finnish buddy Miikka. I know I laid into the Flames for making this move and I am still not a huge fan, due to Vesa’s horrible numbers, but hopefully that was simply the Leafs and not Toskala himself. One can hope, right?

This is a welcome sign for the Flames who have not had a reliable back-up goalie since…well, it has been a while. And no, Cujo was not reliable even though he stole that game versus the Sharks. He was quite possibly the most awkward and nerve-racking goalie to watch in the history of the game.

Iginla recorded his 30th goal of the season in this game. It marked the 9th straight season in which he has had thirty or more goals in a season. He now has 62 points this campaign and moves into 20th in the league in scoring. The Flames will need ‘Olympic’ Jarome to keep up his strong play if they have any chance of spring time success.

This Flames team has turned into a social chemistry experiment in a manner of speaking. Much like in the Olympics where teams were given little to no time to gel as a team, this Flames team, which includes 8 fresh faces (9 if you include Backlund), has been given the monumental task of climbing out of a non-playoff seed into the elite eight in less than a month. Not to mention the colossal pressure that Calgary has on them if and when they make the playoffs.

The Flames have now won 3 of their last 4 games and are playing better. Each and every game becomes the biggest game of the season; not to sound to cliché.

Tuesday’s game against the Red Wings is, well, one of those ‘big’ games. The Flames are 1-1 against the Wings this season and have out-scored them 4-3 in those two games. Kiprusoff recorded one of his 3 shutouts he has this season against the Wings back in November when he faced 40 shots on goal.

I am sure the Flames will try their best, but as Sean Connery so elegantly put it,

“Losers always whine about their best. Winners go home and fuck the prom queen.”

The Flames have tried their best all year and maybe that has been the problem.

This has been,

Newman on the Flames

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Laughing Stock

I can see the line-up at the hospital for broken ankles is getting pretty long, as people have been jumping off of the bandwagon at a tremendous pace.

Fresh off one of the worst sets of trades I have ever witnessed, the Calgary Flames lay a massive egg on the ice tonight against the Minnesota Wild. Fortunately I did not have to bear witness to this game tonight so I really can not say a whole lot about it except for the fact that once again the Flames offence continues to fire on all cylinders (See: sarcasm).

The Flames were shut out for the 4th time since mid-January. They had been shut out zero times before that. They are not good and have a tough Devils team coming into the Dome on Friday night…yikes!

As for the trades, I am thinking Sutter must have taken the wrong pills this morning because these trades do not make an ounce of sense in my mind; except for maybe the Toskala deal, but it’s a stretch.

Toskala was once a good goalie, but that was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. He gives Kipper that added support in net and some veteran experience but is he really any better than McElhinney? He had 2 ½ decent seasons in San Jose but that was 3 years ago. His stats this year are appalling. A 3.66 GAA and a .874 SP%! I do not care what team you play for, that is horrendous. McElhinney’s stats: 3.22 GAA, .885 SP%. Equally bad; fine.

I do not blame Sutter for not watching any Leafs games but that’s what scouts are for. The Leafs are bad for a reason, and now the Flames have 3 of their forwards, their mediocre defenceman and their crappy goalie. Why make the trade? Where is the logic?

As for giving up on Dustin Boyd, let me take a quote from my Sunday blog:

Boyd has the most upside and would clearly bring back the most in return. The other option would be Langkow who garners a $4.5 million dollar cap hit for the next two seasons. In my opinion, if the Flames deal Boyd, they only give up on yet another up and coming player to early in his career. Like St. Louis, Giguere, Stillman, Lombardi and most recently Phaneuf, Dustin Boyd is a Flames draft pick who is starting to show signs of his potential. Trading another one of our young guys for an older more experienced player (Jokinen last year, Stuart a couple years back, etc.) only sets this franchise further back.

And what did the Flames do? Exactly what they have been doing for the past 15 years; giving up on players way too quickly, but this time they received next to nothing in return, so maybe I was a tad off on the market value of Boyd. But still, why deal him if you are not going to get anything. This move pisses me off almost as much as the next deal does.

Why is Sutter determined to get older and slower? Steve “Freakin” Staois! He is 35 years old and has a cap hit of $2.6 million next year. Aaron Johnson, when used, is 9 years younger and made just over half a million dollars. Johnson was a decent ‘fill-in guy’ and made next to nothing, so why get rid of him? Staios is a 6th/7th defenceman and slow as molasses.

I had numerous Oiler fans laugh in my face today when they heard this deal, and rightfully so as Darryl Sutter is slowly making the Flames the laughing stock of the NHL.

This has been,

Newman on the Flames

Reaching Milestones Together

This was an article that I had published for hitmenhockey.com. Get out there and support our Junior team. They are playing really well!

Calgary Hitmen forwards Joel Broda and Brandon Kozun both recorded their 250^th points in their Western Hockey League careers last week.

Kozun reached the milestone against the Red Deer Rebels in last Wednesday’s home game, while Broda eclipsed the barrier two nights later against the very same Rebels team.

Such an accomplishment should not go unnoticed, yet both players state that they pay very little attention to such stats. “I actually didn’t really know I did it.” Kozun chuckled. While Broda echoed similar comments, “No, we are not even really aware, unless we are kind of reading it in the game notes.”

Both players are very quick to highlight other players’ successes, rather than their own. “It’s definitely an honour to do that, but I have played on a lot of good teams with a lot of good players and you have to give a lot of credit to them for that accomplishment.” Kozun said.

Broda was also reserved when talking about his feat, “It’s a testament to hard work and to playing with good players.”

Kozun, who leads the Hitmen in scoring with 93 points, gives praise to Broda for what he does on a nightly basis. “He’s been playing great lately, he’s probably got the best shot in the league. I have never seen a snap shot as good as his.”

Brandon adds that Broda’s goal scoring ability allows himself the added space to manoeuvre. “It opens up a lot of room for me because he demands that respect that he can put the puck in the net from any angle.”

Broda, who ranks third on the Hitmen in points but first in goals with 33, pushes the accolades right back on his teammate, “He is so good at making the right play, that you just have to get open and he will find you with that puck.”

When asked if there is any competition between the two of them, Broda laughs it off saying that there is a little but most of it is just a friendly rivalry. “A little of it is unspoken. You know, we are both motivated. We both want to do well, but at the same time, we both want each other to do well too.”

Lasting relationships are hard to come by in sport. The Flames have Conroy and Iginla who’s friendship blossomed playing alongside each other in 2001. Now, Joel Broda and Brandon Kozun fit that mould for Calgary’s Junior franchise.

Broda says their friendship will go far past their days as Hitmen. “We have gotten pretty close over the last year and half here playing together. We are pretty good friends and I think its going to be a friendship that lasts a long time.”

By Derrick Newman

hitmenhockey.com

Source of Photo: http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/logos/whl/calgary_hitmen_2004-05.gif

Two for the Money

The Calgary Flames signed Matt Stajan and Rene Bourque to long contract extensions. In my opinion, both do not make a lot of sense.

As much as I like him as a player, Rene Bourque has been injury riddled since he started his NHL career. Only once has he played over 70 games in a season; his rookie campaign in Chicago when he played 77 games and recorded 34 points. The following seasons he has played 44, 62 and 58 respectively. He is on pace to play roughly 70 games this season, as he has already missed 9 contests earlier in the season. I understand the 6-year contract is front loaded, but it still doesn’t make sense.

Why would you take such a risk on a guy who is prone to getting injured? Also, how does he garner that kind of salary? He has eclipsed the 40 point plateau now twice in his career; this season being his second. Yes, his points per game numbers are high, but if he only plays 60 games a season what good is he? I would have way rather have seen a 3 year deal.

The salary cap is only due to come down in the next couple years and this deal could handcuff the Flames for a while if Bourque continues his annual visits to the infirmary.

I would have loved to have seen Stajan’s face when he saw that contract offer. I am sure he could not touch pen to paper any faster.

Similar to Bourque, Matt Stajan has not exactly been an offensive powerhouse as he has had only one season in which he scored over 50 points; that being last season. The difference between the two is that Stajan has been playing in Leaf Land for his entire career and the offensive output on that team has never been anything to marvel at.

Still, you can not grant him that kind of money for the 7 games he has played in a Flames jersey (2G, 2A, 7GP). He is a number two center who is being forced into the number one spot. Does this sound familiar? Langkow, Lombardi and Conroy have all been forced into this role, yet none of them have encompassed enough skill to compliment #12 properly.

Is Matt Stajan really the answer? The simple answer is no.

I guess developers build on ‘spec’ sometimes and I presume that is what Sutter has done here. I am just not sure that either of these two will be worth the cost in the long run.

This has been,

Newman on the Flames

Source of Photos: http://www.thehockeynews.com/imgs/dynamique/photos/300/h030125A.jpg